No Que Sera Sera On Namibia’s Coast

A cautionary poem about NOT accepting what life throws at you when sailing in Namibia

Que sera, sera, she said to me, as we sailed away from shore Sailing north from Walvis Bay on that frigid Easter morn The southerly winds blew cold and hard, pushing our ketch along We knew we’d come across the Skeleton Coast before too long

Namibia has a horrid past of grasping passing boats And sinking them along her coast, aye many a written note Has told the tale of various ships who sunk or lost their way Being pulled or pushed by wind or fog or nighttime clear as day

So when you plan to sail along Namibia’s rugged shore Remember to keep your distance far away as you explore For many a ship, who passed this way, hoping to end their tour Hundreds of vessels lost on the beach, skeletons evermore

© Matt Ray 2021

The Skeleton Coast of Namibia is called such for the hundreds of vessels that ran aground because of winds and currents pushing them too close to shore. It is also known for its fog, which further complicates navigation through that area. For more information, take a look at this article.

This poem is a prompt, given by Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她). I kind of took an opposite approach to the prompt. The original prompt is found here:

I’d like to challenge the following persons to participate in this prompt.

ScienceDuuude, Melanie J., Kristine Alessi, Anne Bonfert

Want to connect? You can find me somewhere on our beautiful planet, on a sailboat, or with my hands in the soil and my eyes gazing up at the clouds. Or here on Linktree.

For more of my work, here are a few examples.